Students seeking Galway places caught up in rent race

Student leaders and a housing charity in Galway are dealing with an unprecedented level of people who are unable to find suitable accommodation in the city.

The annual hunt for accommodation comes as property website Daft.ie released a report showing a 6.7% increase in rents in Galway City in the past year.

Housing agency Threshold said the hunt for somewhere suitable and affordable to stay has become increasingly difficult.

And Declan Higgins, President of NUI Galway Students’ Union, said: “An awful lot of people are having difficulty finding accommodation. Broadly, landlords operate on a decent basis, but there is an element that sees students as a soft touch and rent out substandard accommodation.”

National charity group Threshold – which works to prevent homelessness and campaigns for tenants’ rights – has warned that it sees the same complaints from students each year.

The most commonly recurring problems include landlords withholding deposits or not maintaining the property correctly.

Diarmaid O’Sullivan, Services Manager with Threshold, told the Connacht Tribune: “As the search for student accommodation begins in earnest following the publication of Leaving Certificate results and CAO offers, we are urging students in Galway to ensure they are aware of their rights as tenants.

“For many students it is likely to be their first time living away from home. The search for appropriate accommodation can be a challenging experience for both students and their parents.

“In addition, securing student accommodation is becoming increasingly difficult due to a current shortage in supply of rented accommodation in Galway.

“There has been a sharp rise in rent levels in Galway in the last year, with rents up on average by six per cent. Finding student accommodation that is affordable and suitable is becoming more challenging,” he added.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.